Daniel Jacobs says he’s a happy fighter now he’s campaigning at Super-Middleweight as he makes his debut at 168lbs against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona on Friday night, live on DAZN on US and Sky Sports in the UK.
TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW STARTING FROM $25 (plus booking fee)
Jacobs (35-3 29 KOs) closed the book on his time at Middleweight in May with a unification clash with Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas, and the two-time World ruler now embarks on his quest to become a two-weight World champion.
The ‘Miracle Man’ begins that journey in Phoenix against Chavez Jr (51-3-1 33 KOs) the Mexican star that is also hunting two-weight World honors, but Jacobs has warned the 168lbs division that the extra weight moving up has made a huge difference to his mood in camp.
“It’s been amazing,” said Jacobs. “I’ve been able to be genuinely happy, to focus only on training and focus only on my skillset and not on the idea of cutting 10 to 15 pounds before the weigh in. So, it’s a big deal for me and I’m happy and I’m looking forward to showing everyone in the world that it wasn’t an excuse last time around.
“It was the actual fact of me cutting the weight and that would make a difference in the previous fights that I’ve been having. So now you’re going to see, in my opinion, a better version of myself and I look forward to that.
“I’m able to be a lot freer when it comes to putting more food and necessary foods in my body. I don’t have to limit myself and most importantly, I don’t have to go through that weight cut process that always drains me the 48 hours before the fight.
“I think with this last fight; it really took a toll on me. Obviously, we know the stipulations. I was in a contract with my last bout, so that was a clear indication for me that maybe I need to try and test the waters in 168 pounds just to give myself an opportunity to be myself, to be 100 per cent and camp has been beautiful.”
Chavez Jr and Jacobs clash on a huge night of action in Phoenix as Julio Cesar Martinez takes on Cristofer Rosales for the vacant WBC World Flyweight title. The Welterweight division is in focus on the card as Maurice Hooker starts his quest to become a two-weight World champion as he moves up to Welterweight and takes on Uriel Perez on his bow at 147lbs. Josh Kelly is one of the stand out talents in the Welterweight division, and he meets Winston Campos as he closes in on a clash with European champion David Avanesyan at the start of 2020. Olympic gold medal man Daniyar Yeleussinov is another Welterweight star on the card and he looks to impress in his ninth pro outing against Alan Sanchez. Gabriel Rosado will have a keen eye on the main event as he fights for the 38th time as a pro against Humberto Ochoa while Brit star Liam Smith continues his charge to a second World title reign in a ten round clash with Roberto Garcia. Three of Matchroom Boxing USA’s bright young things complete the stacked card in Nikita Ababiy, Reshat Mati and Raymond Ford.
